ROSS PERRY reckons he has taken a massive step on the road to recovery after completing his first 45 minutes since July for Rangers' second string yesterday.

The defender has been plagued by injury problems this season after picking up ankle ligament damage in the summer but made his return to action in the Under-20's 2-1 win over Ross County.

Perry's spell on the sidelines has seen him fall down the Ibrox pecking order this term, but the 24-year-old is confident he is on the right track as he bids to put a nightmare few months behind him and kick-start his career.

He said: "I feel good. It's obviously a process to come back, as it is after any injury, and after eight months out it is going to take time.

"But it felt comfortable and I was glad just to get the first 45 minutes under my belt and behind me.

"It'll do a lot for me. There have been some hard times for me this season and I've had two operations.

"There have been times when you think it's a career-threatening injury because it was a pretty serious one. But I've worked hard and our physio Stevie Walker has been really good with me.

"He has kept my spirits high and this is a really big step for me."

A Dylan Dykes penalty and strike from Charlie Telfer proved enough to clinch the points for Gordon Durie's side at the Highland Football Academy.

Perry was pleased to see fellow defender Chris Hegarty continue his recovery from a lengthy injury lay-off as he was joined by Luca Gasparotto after the break and completed a full 90 minutes.

"It was great for me to see Chris doing so well because he has been out for the majority of the time I have," Perry told rangers.co.uk

"He's a couple of weeks ahead of me in terms of getting back into the first team again and I'm very comfortable playing next to him. He did really well."